In note of my last post, today it is a high of 60 degrees in Seattle and I'm wearing a tank top. It's a beautiful day that would only be made more perfect with a little rain. I'm writing this review at a coffee shop drinking a cardamom latte.

My favorite scene.

When I first heard Cloud Atlas was being made into a movie, I wondered how on earth they were going to adapt the book. I also wondered who would be audacious enough to attempt it.

In retrospect, it's not surprising that the Wachowskis would be the ones at the helm, aided by director Tom Twyker. The six-storyline movie (based on David Mitchell's novel) is a mash of sci-fi, post-apocalyptic primitive future, and mythology... Something that the Wachowskis would be completely at home with. The six different lines are strengthened by having different directors for each story to give them each a different feel.

It's ambitious from the get-go. The book/movie spans six different storylines, six different time periods, and six different genres. Although the book offers these narratives in two separate chunks (going first chronologically with each portion of the story before finishing each story in reverse order), the movie entwines all of the storylines together from the beginning.

From the beginning of the movie, you know you're in for an epic ride. This is a movie that definitely improves upon seeing it in the theater versus seeing it at home.There are definite goosebump moments throughout this movie. There are scenes that are sprawling, but also many that falter. Sometimes, the stories intermingle marvelously, much like a sextet (like the Cloud Atlas Sextet in what I think was the most poignant and strongest storyline). Other times, this type of story-telling feels more like a gimmick and you realize that most of the stories on their own aren't particularly original or interesting.

Mitchell's novel received its strength by the fact that each story was conveyed differently -- through journal-writing, letters, thriller novel and more. Mitchell shows himself a master of genre-writing, deep characterizations, and playful literary manipulations. Unfortunately, this effect is mostly lost in the movie. In the novel, there was also a play on what was real. Was the sci-fi writing the future? Or just a contrivance? Were the letters meant to be actual documents? This was confused by the appearance of a comet/reincarnation motif that appeared time and again throughout all the narratives, whether they were meant to be fictional or not. Of course, the motif also emphasized that when it came down to it, the whole book is contrived...by David Mitchell.

The movie gives off a sense that these are lives that are repeating and continuing into the future, each existence affected and swayed by the action of the former. It bolsters this effect by having all of the different stories played by the same cast, albeit under different ages/races/genders rendered possible through prosthetics and makeup (with varied success). Unfortunately, it does little to follow through on this moral note. I looked in vain for proof of this theme that was repeated verbally by different characters. But one man's crime in one life didn't mean he had a poor next life. In fact, the villains and heroes/heroines seemed to remain constant. I wanted to be impressed by the acting abilities of the cast (not the prosthetics) and how they could transform into each role, but I found little variance despite the different narratives and time periods. Tom Hanks was always Tom Hanks. Halle Barry was always Halle Barry.

And no amount of prosthetics could change the fact that Doona Bae was Doona Bae.

Despite this though, it is definitely worth it to stay for the credits and see all the different characters that each cast member plays. You're probably in for a surprise for some of the unexpected roles.

Cloud Atlas certainly gets points for ambition. Some of the scene transitions are clunky and overcontrived (by the end of the movie, I physically winced every time we got the overused overhead shot of the ship), but some meld together cleverly (I actually loved when one character gave a narration over a montage of all the different stories). On the one hand, I commend the Wachowskis for juggling six stories so well. On the other, I have to admit that if they didn't decide to juggle/switch between stories so much, the bland story-lines would have fallen flat. So I'm not sure whether to be disappointed with the weakness of the stories, or impressed with the visual pyrotechnics offered to keep them afloat and keep the audience engaged.

I was left wanting more in every aspect -- story, acting, clever writing. Cloud Atlas was good...but it could have been great.